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The recent events in Kenya have brought back memories of the unfortunate violence that followed the elections of 2007. Most Kenyans share the feelings of concern as they read about or watch the news report sporadic violence. Of particular interest are the public utterances of politicians whose hypotheses on these acts of violence differ.

Are these acts of violence instigated by political, religious or could it be tribal conflict. The general population find themselves taking sides and expressing their opinions on each position. This situation is threatening to polarize the country along political and to some degree religious and tribal lines.

Trafford Publishing authorFlorence Akumu Juma

This seems to be the perfect recipe for generating an atmosphere of animosity—a poisonous atmosphere indeed. The atmosphere that needs to be avoided by all means, because it has the potential to render a country helpless while plagued by the toxic words and behaviours of its own leaders.

It was in an attempt to address the effects of a similar situation and present an alternative and more peaceful path to problem resolution that I opted to record the events of post election violence of 2008 in a children’s book. Continue reading →

Introduction

A basic understanding of theology is the quest for knowledge of the Divine—the study of God. But why, one may ask, undertake such an endeavour, and to what end? My simple response would be, to know God is to enhance and enrich my life and service. To know God is to understand His creation – humanity and, the created context. I practice theology to learn more about God and His creation. In the process, that knowledge serves to improve my professional practice as a spiritual care provider in a public health institution. Thus, originates the burden of this task – the implication of doing theology in a public domain. My hope is to reflect on the implications of my professional practice as a spiritual care provider engaging in theological discourse in a public health institution. I’ll attempt a discussion of the implications of public theology in a specific context – public health institution, employing a specific approach. By its nature, public theology may serve as a medium through which all the other branches of theology interact with the other disciplines and seek to promote the idea of individuals living out their spiritual values and beliefs for the good of the general public. This can be applied in any field including, educational, social, health, political, and/or religious institutions, whether public or private. Public theology may vary depending on the context and practitioners at any given time and place, but have similar goals. Before getting to how I practice theology publicly, I’ll first discuss my understanding of the term public theology.